Turkey
Identity, Community, and Culture in Contemporary Turkey
June 17–28, 2008
Itinerary
This 12-day seminar begins in Ankara and ends in Istanbul. Also included is a study tour of Anatolia, visiting Ürgüp and Konya. Group travel by air from Konya to Istanbul is included in the seminar fee.
Seminar Fee
CIEE Member: $2,600 Non-Member: $2,800
Academic Content (please note this is tentative and subject to change)
Lectures
- Turkish Politics and National Identity
- Human Development in Turkey
- Turkey and the European Union
- Turkey-Middle East Relations
- Human Rights and Freedom of Expression in Turkey
- Religious and Secular Minority Issues
- The Struggle between Islamism and Secularism in Turkey
- Urbanization, Migration, and Community
- Emerging Lifestyles in the Urban Landscape
- Cultural Fragments and Shifting Identities
Co-curricular Site Visits & Field Trips
- Turkish Grand National Assembly
- Atatürk’s Mausoleum
- Attend Friday prayers at Kocatepe Mosque
- Walking tour of Roman, Ottoman and early Republican sites in Ankara
- Museum of Anatolian Civilizations
- Mevlana Shrine and Cultural Center in Konya
- Community Development Centers
- Cappadocia
- Traditional Turkish Cooking and Arts Workshops
- Bosphorous Cruise
- Istanbul Spice Market
- Alevi Community Center
- Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, Fener
Rationale
While Turkey’s unique position at the crossroads of East and West has endowed this country with a long and rich history and strategic importance in the region, the nation still struggles to define itself and its citizens. Established from the multi-ethnic, multi-religious and largely rural Ottoman Empire, the modern Republic of Turkey has become a mostly urban, secular society in which individual and national identity is tied to the notion of Turkish ethnicity. However, fueled by the accession process to the European Union, regional and domestic conflict, and the impacts of globalization, notions and expressions of identity, community and culture are being challenged and redefined. Through lectures, site visits, study tours and hands-on experiences of local expressions of culture, participants will gain insight into shifting notions of identity, community and culture in contemporary Turkey.
Host Institution
This seminar is hosted by Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara, Turkey’s capital. METU was founded in 1956 on the American University model, and is one of the leading universities not only in Turkey, but in the Balkans and the Middle East. Approximately 18,000 students are enrolled, including approximately 1,000 foreign students.
Seminar Leadership
Kathryn Bourgeois, Resident Director of the CIEE Study Center in Ankara, is a dual U.S./Turkish citizen and has been a resident of Turkey since 1995. She comes to CIEE with many years of experience in the field of international education and is particularly adept with issues surrounding cross-cultural communications. Kathryn has worked with Pitzer and Scripps Colleges in the U.S. and Turkey, and she has experience both as a classroom teacher and program administrator. Kathryn is currently completing a Master's Degree in Sociology from Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara, and holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Anthropology from Scripps College.
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